Isotypic heterojunction based on Fe-doped and terephthalaldehyde-modified carbon nitride for improving photocatalytic degradation with simultaneous hydrogen production

• Published in: Chinese chemical letters Vol. 32; no. 9; pp. 2782 - 2786
• Main Authors: Jiang, Xun-Heng, Yu, Fan, Wu, Dai-She, Tian, Lei, Zheng, Ling-Ling, Chen, Li-Sha, Chen, Peng, Zhang, Long-Shuai, Zeng, Hui, Chen, Ying, Zou, Jian-Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.09.2021; National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Heavy Metals Pollutants Control and Resource Utilization,Nanchang Hangkong University,Nanchang 330063,China%Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Environment and Resource Utilization of Ministry of Education,School of Resources Environmental and Chemical Engineering,Nanchang University,Nanchang 330031,China; National-Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Heavy Metals Pollutants Control and Resource Utilization,Nanchang Hangkong University,Nanchang 330063,China%Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control and Resources Recycle,Nanchang Hangkong University,Nanchang 330063,China; Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Environment and Resource Utilization of Ministry of Education,School of Resources Environmental and Chemical Engineering,Nanchang University,Nanchang 330031,China; Key Laboratory of Jiangxi Province for Persistent Pollutants Control and Resources Recycle,Nanchang Hangkong University,Nanchang 330063,China
• Subjects: Carbon nitride; Isotypic heterojunction; Photocatalytic degradation; Simultaneous hydrogen evolution; Photocatalytic degradation; Isotypic heterojunction; Simultaneous hydrogen evolution; Carbon nitride
• ISSN: 1001-8417; 1878-5964
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cclet.2021.01.011

Fe-CN/NTE improved degradation of 4-NP coupled with simultaneous photocatalytic H2 evolution under visible light irradiation. [Display omitted] To achieve an efficient photocatalytic for clean energy production and environmental remediation, the highly active Fe-doped and terephthalaldehyde-modified carbon nitride (Fe-CN/NTE) isotypic heterojunction photocatalyst is constructed via a simple annealing method for degradation of organic pollutants with simultaneous resource recovery. The Fe-CN/NTE catalyst exhibits a 93% removal rate of p-nitrophenol (4-NP) and a 1.72 mmol/g H2 evolution rate in 2 h simultaneously under visible light irradiation, which are higher than those of pristine CN, Fe-CN, and NTE, respectively. Photoelectrochemical tests show that the excellent photocatalytic performance of Fe-CN/NTE comes from the improved migration, transportation, and separation of photoinduced charge carriers and expanded light-harvesting range. Moreover, hydroxyl radical (OH), electron (e−), and hole (h+) are the main active species and the rational mechanism of 4-NP photodegradation was proposed based on scavenger measurements and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS), respectively. Isotypic heterojunction Fe-CN/NTE photocatalyst possesses excellent stability in the H2 evolution and 4-NP degradation during five-run cycle tests, posing as a promising candidate in practical works for organic pollution and energy challenges.